Solar panel users climb through roof

By Ben Cubby and David Wroe

December 6, 2011 — 3.00am

MORE than a million Australians now live in houses powered by solar panels and the nation is on track to generate one-fifth of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, a report released overnight at the United Nations climate change talks in South Africa shows.

The Climate Change Minister, Greg Combet, announced work had begun on linking Australia's emissions trading scheme, which starts in July with a fixed carbon price, with similar schemes in Europe and New Zealand.

On track ... the number of panels has grown 35 times over since 2008.Credit:Marc Stapelberg

Australia needs to link its carbon scheme to international markets to stop the price of carbon permits soaring. Mr Combet said allowing heavy-polluting companies in Australia to buy and sell carbon permits abroad was the best way to keep permit prices down because competition would promote the cheapest way to cut emissions.

Mr Combet announced Australian officials would work with European and New Zealand counterparts ''to promote deep, liquid and integrated carbon markets''. One effect of Australia's carbon price is to make renewable energy cheaper when compared with fossil fuels and the annual Clean Energy Australia report showed strong growth in the past year.

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About 9.6 per cent of Australia's energy was produced from renewable sources in the 12 months until September, up from 8.7 per cent the year before.

Hydroelectricity made up the biggest proportion of renewable energy mix but wind and solar power were growing quickly.

Driven by state feed-in tariffs, rooftop solar panel installation grew exponentially, with just over 500,000 households and an estimated 1.2 million people now meeting at least part of their daily energy needs from the sun.

The number of panels has grown 35 times over since 2008, the Clean Energy Council's report shows, based on data from the electricity grid broken down into the different postcodes, though the breakneck growth is expected to slow as tariffs are reduced.

''There will be a slowdown in the short term but the medium and long-term outlook is for very strong growth for household solar systems,'' the director of the Clean Energy Council, Kane Thornton, said.

Solar power has already reached ''grid parity'' - where a household pays the same price per kilowatt of energy for either solar or coal-fired energy - in some parts of NSW and Queensland. Full grid parity across most of Australia is expected to be a year or two away.

In Durban, Mr Combet was set to meet overnight with New Zealand's Minister for International Climate Change Negotiations, Tim Groser, as well his US and Japanese counterparts.

The European Union's emissions trading scheme, covers about 40 per cent of the 27-member bloc's greenhouse gas emissions. The European Commissioner for Climate Action, Connie Hedegaard said: ''We look forward to working with Australia on international action to develop carbon markets.''

The opposition spokesman on climate change, Greg Hunt, said the plan to link with overseas carbon trading schemes had ''been re-announced in various ways at various times''.